What you might call a "real" western if you're not gun shy - if they're shooting at Williams, he's shooting back and he's not likely to miss. Williams and Al St. John team up with some local ranchers and the sheriff to track down and bring justice to a gang that has suddenly appeared and is wreaking havoc - burning buildings, cattle rustling and murders - and leaving no traces to follow. Williams get into it at the beginning, shooting 3 of the 4 men who they find attacking 2 elderly gents in a buckboard. That earns him the gratitude of Lafe McKee (Charlie Hayden) who wasn't killed and his lovely daughter Molly O'Day (Joan Hayden). Miss O'Day appeared in 20 films between 1927-35 - IMDb offers no further info. Seasoned villain Ted Adams (Gordon Rontell) brings the right amount of deceit and nastiness to his part. We et a couple of nice songs sung in harmony by The Singing Wranglers. IMDb says 57:00, we get 54:30. Not special, not bad.

With a weak script and a lot of static shots, this is a pretty lame movie even by typical B-western standards. It was particularly disappointing because I read the book a few years ago and thought then that it would make for a movie that'd be a lot of fun. For an idea of what I'm talking about, see http://www.epinions.com/review/The_Sunrise_Guns_epi/content_476384300676

Sir Henry wants to buy some land for his syndicate back in London, so he hires the lawyer and real estate agent, Rontel (Ted Adams), who "clears" the land by burning out, shooting out, and otherwise dislodging the ranchers who occupy it. Guinn Williams (Tuscon Smith) and Al St. John (Stony) are cattle dealers who happen upon this drama just in time to save a rancher's life, and hire on with him. Since repeated attempts are made on the rancher's life, they also get the job of figuring out just who is behind the burnings and killings. As Bob's Lucky Feline points out, one can see in this film the antecedents of The Three Mesquiteers and The Rangebusters.

Notice they do not bill Al St. John as "Fuzzy" in this film. This is because he was not yet quite so fuzzy, nor quite so scuzzy. He didn't yet have a big shaggy beard to hide behind, so he has to do considerably more mugging for the camera. To get his nicotine fix, he chews his usual cud through the first half of the film. That doesn't seem to satisfy, so he huffs and puffs through the second half, while still chewing. That boy sure was addicted to it, wasn't he? Maybe he grew that beard out later to hide something the surgeons had to do to his jaw?

The aim that sputtering Spuzzard questions is because Williams needs to flip his gun forward each time he takes a shot at someone. Y'see, black powder is not quite so powerful as modern cordite, so the slug needs a little extra help to reach its target.

By the way, they never explain the title because they figure they made it clear enough: When "the law" (the sheriff's office) lets you down, you turn to "the other law," the law of the 45's (ie. vigilante justice).

Fairly good print, as others have said, with clear sound and sharp picture, but a few too many repair splices disrupt dialogue enough to be annoying. The generated "h.264" (MP4) derivative file is quite satisfying at 640x480 and a 700K variable bit rate, much better than the usual 320x240 512K MP4's here on IA.

In Law of The 45s. Squinty eyed Tucson Smith and his sidekick Stoney try to figure out who is trying to hustle all the ranchers land and why. All signs point to the greedy slimy moustachioed lawyer (of course) Rentel.
This was not bad, although really pedestrian. Big Boy Williams (yes, that is the actors name) is pretty good as the hero here, although one questions what kind of an aim he has with that kind of gun handling. Al St. John does his usual sidekick role with great aplomb, and Ted Adams plays his limited role to the best of all his abilities. This was good, not great.


By the way, twice they alluded to the Law of The 45s, but never bothered to explain what exactly it is.

Based on A William Colt MacDonald Story, you have Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Tucson Smith and Al "Fuzzy" St. John as Stoney up against evil villian, stone cold killer Ted Adams, who has most of the dialogue and the meatiest part in the movie. Lots of action but some dragging dialogue plot devices as well. Some of the violence is off-camera as it is pretty brutal even for the 1935, but enough shoot-em-up action for any western fan with a satisfying conclusion. Sherry Tansey, Glenn Strange, Budd Buster shine in small roles. Herman Hack gets an honorable mention and more dialogue as well in this well made little western. Very good print and superior sound, although I'm sure the horses all had head-aches since no gunshots were dubbed in. Just loud live rounds in their ears. Williams O.K. as western hero, but his natural comic flair shines through. Al. St John one of the top 5 sidekicks to ever make westerns is fine as a chain smoking, whiskey drinking, but a little sub-dued, albeit intelligent side-kick. Worth a look.